Apparatus for making cigarettes



Oct. 29, 1940. A PQDMQRE 2,219,491

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARETTES Filed Nov. 22, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet lOct. 29., 1940. A. PODMORE APPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARETTES Fil ed Nov.22, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR #AZAMQ PM Mg ATTORNEY Patented Oct.29', 1940 APPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARETTES "Arthur Podmore, London,-England, assignor to American Machine & Foundry CompanmNew York, N. Y.,a corporation of New Jersey Application November 22, 1934, Serial No.754,291

'In Great Britain November 29; 1933 2 Claims.-

This invention relates to filter meansadapted for use with cigarettes. g

Hitherto it has been the practice to provide filter means for cigarettesby incorporating a filter tip portion axially with the tobacco portionand within the same wrapper.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedapparatus for making cigarette filter means which is adapted to beapplied to an ordinary cigarette whereby the filter may be used ordiscarded according to the smokers desires. 1

A further object is to provide an apparatus for forming the improvedfilter means whereby they may be manufactured in an expeditious mannerand at a relatively low cost. 7

According to the invention the improved filter means may be manufacturedas a continuous rodlike member comprising alternate filter tips andspaces within a continuous wrapper which is subsequently severed intosections comprising a tubular element having a filter tip at one endthereof and a space at the other whereby the device may be telescopedonto'the end of a cigarette. The wrapper strip comprises .a relativelystiff paper so that the empty portions will standup to the action of thecutter and will be sufficiently rigid to ensure the telescoping on to acigarette without difficulty. I

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of'a portion of filter tip rodindicating the positions of severance to form the individual tipelements.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic View showing the preferred mode of applyingthe filter tip elements to-a travelling wrapper web prior to theformation into the rod.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic perspective View of a modification in. whichthe filter tip elements are cut to length and delivered from a hopper.

Figure 4 is a detail plan showing the means for delivering the-filtertips from the hopper.

Figure 5 is adiagrammatic View of a standard rod-forming and sealingmechanism and cutoff, in conjunction with a cork tipper applying corktips to one face of the wrapper and a dauber roll for pastingspacedsections of its other face.

In carrying the invention into effect according to one convenient mode asupply or spool ID of the filter tip material is provided from whichportions ll preferably of double length are severed and delivered to atravelling paper web l2 to which spaced patches 1 3 of adhesive havebeen applied. v The web I 2 is continuously fed by the rodforming tapeof a rod forming mechanism (not shown) similar to that shown in Fig. 5.p The tipping'material is jfiat in cross section and is fed and'severedinto sections by an apparatus constructed on the lines of that forapplying cork tips to a cigarette paper Web described in British PatentSpecification No. 394,732.

Thus the filter tip material is fed by feed rolls l4 and I5 which aregeared together the lower roll being driven by any suitable mechanism.The upper feed roll is mounted upon a pivoted arm l6 and is'springpressed to give the necessary feeding grip.

The filter tip web is fed over a reciprocating table I! mounted uponparallel arms 18 pivoted at their lower ends at I9.

The reciprocations of the table II are effected by a cross head l 19whose ends are mounted upon crank disks 20, 2| which are driven inunison by suitable means. The cross head is provided with guide surfacesv22 lying between rolls l8a carried by the upper ends of the arms 18.

The cross head H9 also carries a mounting 23 for a knife 24 and a springpressed foot 25.

In operation the crank disks 20 impart an orbital motion to thecrosshead H9 whereby the arms 18 and the table I! supported thereon aregiven a to and fro movement through the engagement of the faces 22 ofthe crosshead with the rollers 1811 on the arms 18. The knife 24 andpresser foot 25, which are mounted on the crosshead and therefore have asimilar orbital movement, follow the to and fro motion of the table; andduring the forward reciprocating of the table I! the knife descends bythe action of the cranks and severs a suitable length of the filter tipweb, the presser foot holding the Web firmly upon the table.- Duringthis action the knife is displaced horizontally at a speed increasingfrom zero to a maximum speed at the moment it severs the filter tip, atwhich instant it is being displaced horizontally at a speed equal to thespeed of the filter "tip material atthe same rate as the feeding rate ofthe Web. Theknife then rises and returns together with the table, theweb being meanwhile fed forward by the rolls l4 and I5, and therebypushing the severed filter tip on to the traveling wrapper Web, 'so thatthe knife will re-engage the web rearwardly of the previous cut.

The severed piece of filter tip web is delivered on to a gummed sectionI3 of the wrapper web 12 and is pressed thereon by a pressure roll 26associated with a guide roll 21 for the wrapper web.

The gumming of the wrapper web l2 may be effected in any suitablemanner. For example the web may be delivered beneath a guide roll 28with which is associated a dauber roll 29 having daubing surfaces 30 ofsuitable length and spacing according to the desired spacing of thefilter tips.

The dauber roll receives a supply of adhesive from the feed roll 31 of agumming device 32.

The wrapper web l2 with the filter tip sections secured thereon are fedto a pasting device 58 to apply a line of paste along the edge and thento a folding device 56 which form parts of a standard rod-formingmechanism (Fig.- of known form in connection with continuous cigaretterod manufacture whereby a continuous tube is fashioned having the filtertip enclosed therein at spaced intervals. t

This continuous filter tip tube'in turn is delivered to a severingdevice or cutoff 60 whereby the tube is severed midway of the spaces andthe tip sections as indicated by the lines aa in Figure 1 as it passesthrough the ledger plate BI and thus produce a filter tip devicecomprising a tubular element enclosing a filter tip at one end and.having a. space at the other for telescopically mounting it upon acigarette.

It will be appreciated that the wrapper web 12 will be of relativelystiff paper suitable to stand up to the severing action and to produce atube of suficient rigidity to facilitate it being applied to acigarette.

It will be obvious that sections of filter tipmaterial of single lengthmay be used instead of double length in which case severance of thecontinuous tube will take place adjacent an end of the filter tip.

When using a double length filter tip section, the severed elements maybe collected in separate columns as is usual in connection withcigarettes having cork tips.

The wrapper web I2 prior to reaching the adhesive applying device 32 maypass through a cork or like tipping device adapted to apply tips atspaced intervals on the face of the web opposite to that adapted toreceive the adhesive l3. Such cork tippers may be of the form shown'inFigure 5 for feeding the filter tips and driven synchronously therewithof any suitable type such as shown in British Patent #451,154, andinclude feed rollers 4| and 42 coacting to draw the web of cork from theroll T and deliver it between the cutter drum 43 and its concave whereoncork tips are severed and continuously advanced by the cutter intoregister with the areas of paste applied to wrapper web l2 which isdrawn continuously from the roll P. The areas of paste are applied inproperly spaced relation to the web I2 by a rotary'segmental paster 46which receives the adhesive from the transfer roll 41 which picks uppaste from the paste wheel 48 revolving in the paste .pot 49. The corktips applied to the web l2 are pressed into adhering relation with itspasted sections by the segmental roll 44, whence the web is guided tothe dauber roll 29 which applies patches of paste to its other face inproperly spaced relation opposite to the cork tips to coincide with thefilter tips deposited thereon. Alternatively the cork tips may beapplied to the web and the web rereeled before feeding it to the filtertip apparatus.

The rates of feed of the wrapper web l2 and the filter tip material arepreferably equal.

The spaces between adjacent filter tip sections on the wrapper web maybe equal in length to the filter tip sectionsor maybe greater or lessthan the sections.

Instead of severing sections from a continuous strip of filter tipmaterial, preformed tips may be delivered from a hopper or supply to atravelling wrapper web. Thus referring to Figures 3 and 4 the wrapperweb [2 having spaced application [3 of an adhesive is fed over a table33 and beneath a hopper 34 containing a supply of preformed filter tipelements 35. The lower wall of the hopper chute 35 lies adjacent thetravelling paper and is provided with an opening 36 on the leading side.

The sides of the chute are provided with slots 31 through which feedingrolls or grippers 38 are adapted to engage the lowest filter tip 35 bythe gripping surfaces 38a, The grippers 38 are rotated in oppositedirections by gearing (not shown) driven from the shaft of the roll 29,at a rate such that the peripheral speed of the gripping surfaces isequal to the speed of the wrapper web. The gripping surfaces are adaptedto engage the filter tip elements and deliver them from the hopper sothat they fall on' tothe wrapper web the movements being synchronised sothat each filter tip engages the appropriateadhesive patch. The hopperchute may be provided-with spaced guiding surfaces extending forwardlybeyond the gripping zone to ensure the filter tip elements lying on thewrapper web parallel with the direction of feed thereof.

A grooved pressure roll 39 is located forwardly of the hopper and isadapted to press the filter tip elements on to the wrapper Web sothat'it'is efiectively secured thereto.

The length of the gripping surfaces 38a may be equal to the length ofthe filter tips and each gripper roll may be provided with a number'ofspaced gripping surfaces accordingto the diameter of the roll and thespacing of the adhesive patches on the wrapper web. v

The wrapper web with the spaced filter tip elements passes on to apaster for applying paste to one margin of the web, and thence to afolding apparatus where it is formed into a tube enclos ing the filtertip. The continuous tubular filter tip rod is then delivered to a cutoff device where it is severed into individual filter tip devices F.These various mechanisms all form parts of the cigarette machine shownin Fig. 5., Y

The wrapper may be formed of waxed paper, the sealing of the tube beingeffected, if desired, by the application of heat through the agency-ofthe heat sealer mechanism (Fig. 5) such as shown in Patent #1992323granted February 26, 1935; on the application of'E. D. Smith. Suchsealing may be assisted by passing the wrapper tube through a cold tubeimmediately after the ap plication of heat.

Alternatively, the wrapper may be of unwaxed paper and spacedapplications of wax at the positions corresponding to the tippingmaterial may be made on'the outside surface of thetube.

The wrapper web is drawn off the roll- T past the cork tipper,paste-applicator and filter :tip applying mechanisms by the rod-formingtape 50, which is driven by the tapewheel ii and propels the web throughthe rod-former 56 (Fig 5).

Having .now described my invention-what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for manufacturing filter tip-devices of the kind describedcomprising means for feeding a wrapper web to a rod forming mechanism, ahopperfor preformed filter tips located above the path of the web, meansfor'applying adhesive to the web at longitudinally spaced points andmeans for successively delivering the filter tips from the hopper toengage the wrapper web at said points.

2. A machine for manufacturing filter tip de vices of the kind describedas claimed in claim 1 wherein said delivering means including membersoperating to impart a movement to the filter tip in the direction of thefeed and at the same speed as the travelling web.

' ARTHUR PODMORE.

